City Travel Guides > Classical Music > Classical Music

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.John Barry: The Beyondness of Things
City Travel Guides > Classical Music > Classical Music
from: Decca

April 19, 1999
I bought this after reading reviews here, and also on discovering one of my fav films "Somewhere In Time" had a CD soundtrack, which is priceless. This CD is good, but there is no magic, no soul, no free passage to another realm, unlike the film sountrack.

I also bought the book by Matheson on the back of the film, and boy is he a weird writer! His style sucks. The director of "Somewhere in Time" read the book and decided he must make a film of it, much to our good fortune.

It really was a question of being in the right place at the right time. A very rare alignment of director (film), J Barry (music) and Matheson (book) but sadly I dont think the magic could ever be repeated.

Still it was fun trying.
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.John Williams: Greatest Hits 1969-1999
City Travel Guides > Classical Music > Classical Music
by: John Williams

November 01, 1999
Bottom line up front, this is one of the best John Williams compilations available. It has not only memorable movie soundtrack songs, but also his music from the Olympics. While other John Williams music CDs have lots of songs, this one has some of the best variety compared to others.
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.Navarrete - Pan's Labyrinth - OST
City Travel Guides > Classical Music > Classical Music
by: Jaroslava Eliaasova, . Lua, City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

November 20, 2006
I first saw "El Laberinto del Fauno" ("Pan's Labyrinth", if you insist, although director Guillermo Del Toro has pointed out that the Faun in the film is NOT Pan!), in Spanish class at University, and the thing that haunted me most about the film was the music: in particular, the main theme.

Even so, buying the soundtrack to a non-Hollywood film was still unusual for me, but where I live, good film scores are hard to come by and this one just happened to appear in a local CD store, so I bought it, and boy was I glad that I did.

As is explained in the liner notes and in the DVD's special features, Del Toro wanted the main theme to be a simple lullaby melody, reflecting the fairy tale nature of the story. Javier Navarette succeeded ... Read More:
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.Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, From the New World
City Travel Guides > Classical Music > Classical Music
from: Naxos

June 02, 2008
I first saw "El Laberinto del Fauno" ("Pan's Labyrinth", if you insist, although director Guillermo Del Toro has pointed out that the Faun in the film is NOT Pan!), in Spanish class at University, and the thing that haunted me most about the film was the music: in particular, the main theme.

Even so, buying the soundtrack to a non-Hollywood film was still unusual for me, but where I live, good film scores are hard to come by and this one just happened to appear in a local CD store, so I bought it, and boy was I glad that I did.

As is explained in the liner notes and in the DVD's special features, Del Toro wanted the main theme to be a simple lullaby melody, reflecting the fairy tale nature of the story. Javier Navarette succeeded ... Read More:
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.Regimental Marches of the British Army Vol. 1
City Travel Guides > Classical Music > Classical Music
by: The Regimental Band of the Coldstream Guards

October 01, 1999
A tremendous collection of each British Army Regiment's own 'signature' tune.

From well known marches like 'The Radetsky' to lesser known tunes like 'The days we went a gipsying', they are all beautifully played by the Band of the Coldstream Guards in quicktime pace, ( 116 beats per minute ).

Together with Vol. 2, these great recordings will turn your living room into Horse Guards Parade !
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.Last Night of the Proms Collection
City Travel Guides > Classical Music > Classical Music
from: Philips

September 09, 1996
As a Yank and a lover of all things brit, I found this cd overwhelming. Play it at full blast and all the neighbors will join you in singing both the British version and American version of these wonderful, familiar, and sacred songs. What an experience!!!
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.Vaughan Williams - Complete Symphonies etc
City Travel Guides > Classical Music > Classical Music
from: EMI Classics

October 09, 2000
The VW symphonies have done remarkably well on disc. Complete cycles by Previn, Haitink and Tod Handley all make substantial claims. Individual symphonies from Richard Hickox, Andrew Davis, Vaughan Williams himself and, of course, 'Glorious John' Barbirolli (as VW christened him) also demand attention. But, if you're looking for a complete overview of the Vaughan Williams symphonic canon (plus quite a lot of substantial extras) then this Boult set is probably still the best all-round recommendation.

Even he has a substantial rival in his earlier self on Decca, conducted under the gaze of the composer who delivers a touching speech of thanks to the players at the end of the pianissimo finale of the Sixth Symphony. This earlier Decca version ... Read More:
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.Hannibal
City Travel Guides > Classical Music > Classical Music
from: Universal Classics

March 11, 2002
There are few occasions these days where music will take your emotions to the depths of despair and up to the highest cloud and back before the album is finished. Mostly this happens in film soundtracks and Hannibal is easily one of the finest. There is humour, sadness, heart-pounding atmosphere and some pieces that will make your heart sing and sent your soul alight as the finest music does, and should.
The highlight of the album is Vide cor Meum by Patrick Cassidy - the album is worth buying for this alone. When I first watched the film I became determined to discover which great opera that piece was from, not realising that it was written specially for the film. Rarely will you find a piece of music that makes you want to simply sit back, shut your ... Read More:
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.Elgar: Violin Concerto in B Minor
City Travel Guides > Classical Music > Classical Music
from: EMI Classics

March 04, 2002
Elgar played the violin himself, and this concerto is his greatest gift to his fellow violinists. When he composed the work in 1909 and 1910, there were already many concertos that gave room for virtuosic playing. Elgar did something different: he created a score that does not so much show what the violin can do as reveal all that it can say.

Here the solo violin yearns, rejoices, pleads and consoles, and then, in one of the most original cadenzas ever written for any instrument, it takes up many of the previous themes and views each familiar melody in an utterly new way. Basil Maine, Elgar's first biographer, said it best when he remarked that most cadenzas call for the soloist to step into the limelight. Elgar instead asks the player to step back into ... Read More:
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.Rachmaninov: Symphony No.2
City Travel Guides > Classical Music > Classical Music
from: Emi Classics

September 06, 1999
This performance of Rachmaninov's second symphony made quite a stir when it was released on vinyl back in 1973 and although that may seem like a generation ago (because it is, sadly!), this newly (1999) re-mastered version succeeds in recapturing the excitement which its original release created. Prior to this recording, Previn and the LSO had toured with the symphony to Russia, where the unexpurgated version had not been heard for years, and it caused a sensation. Listening to this recording, it is not hard to understand why. This is unashamedly beautiful and lyrical music, played by an orchestra and conductor who had no misgivings about whether the music was fashionable or not, and given its full measure of feeling, with great drama and passion. In its newly re ... Read More:
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